News & Stories – Page 3 – Oxford Nature Network

Selected News and Stories

wildflower meadow with fields and trees in distance — Wildflower meadow in Oxfordshire. Photo Yadvinder Malhi

The great significance of observing nature in your back garden

Yadvinder Malhi shares his rediscovery of nature at the local level Like many, I have found solace and refuge in local nature over this year of pandemic and lockdown. When able to escape from Zoom calls and cabin fever, I’ve wandered and exercised in my local floodplain meadow of the Thames. I’ve used books and […]

Nature Networking Coffee morning & talk

Join us on October 22nd 2026 at 10.30 in Seminar rooms 1&2 in the Oxford Martin School for refreshments and pastries, at 11am our speaker will join us for an informal talk. 4 million UK votes for nature. The Why and How of school-based nature education (a brief introduction). Kim Polgreen. Dept. of Education & […]

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Would a whitelist work better to regulate the world’s wildlife...

Dr Dan Challender and Dr Amy Hinsley discuss a new paper in which they evaluate the potential of ‘reverse listing’ to regulate international wildlife trade, highlighting that this approach is not a panacea. Globally, people use and trade at least 50,000 wild species for food, medicinal products, construction materials, and to support their livelihoods, among […]

Inspired by Nature. Powered by People

Celebrating a Remarkable Nature Festival 2026. On Saturday 27 June, as Oxfordshire experienced one of the hottest days of the year, hundreds of people came together for something worth celebrating: a festival that connected people with nature, with each other and with the inspiring work taking place to protect our environment. Despite the heatwave, The […]

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Island reptiles face extinction before they are even studied

A new study has revealed that reptiles confined to islands are facing a double jeopardy. Despite being more likely to go extinct than mainland species, they remain largely ignored by researchers compared to their mainland counterparts. Although islands make up less than 7% of the Earth’s surface, they harbour a disproportionate share of the planet’s biodiversity. […]

India’s 60 million street dogs are turning from village scavengers...

Dasarath Deka / shutterstock Nishant Kumar, University of Oxford Growing up in rural India, my grandmother would feed the village dog half a chapati and a bowl of milk each afternoon, surely insufficient for its needs. The dog survived by scavenging from nearby homes. Years later, living in Delhi, I encountered street dogs refusing biscuits, […]

Friday Nature Seminar Series Term Card

Find out more and register your place online or in-person here

Nature Network Coffee Mornings and Seminars – Hilary Term card

22nd Jan – Brigid Hains and Richard Fisher Science communication that makes sense. In this session, two experienced editors from the digital magazine Aeon will share advice and insights on how to develop, pitch and write long-form science essays for a general, global audience. Aeon’s mission is to explore and communicate knowledge that helps us make […]

Why are so few environmental criminals on Interpol’s ‘most wanted’...

Diogo Veríssimo, University of Oxford and Sally Sinclair, University of Kent Environmental crime is big business, often listed among the world’s top five criminal activities, just behind counterfeiting and drug crime. So it would be reasonable to think it is a big priority for global law enforcement. But our new research suggests this is not […]

Free Screening: Tigre Gente

Call for activities for our inaugural Oxford Nature Festival

On Saturday 27 June 2026, we’re holding a festival celebrating nature, community, creativity, and discovery, right in the heart of Oxford. Events will take place at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, and outside in nearby green spaces. Across the University, and throughout Oxfordshire more widely, there is so […]

Annual One Lecture

Mapping forest resilience hotspots in South America

Researchers from Oxford’s Environmental Change Institute have developed a new way to assess the resilience of South America’s temperate forests — identifying where ecosystems are most likely to withstand environmental change, and where they may be most vulnerable. The study, led by Xiongjie Deng, ECI PhD student, and published in the International Journal of Applied […]

Professor Yadvinder Malhi named on ENDS Report Power List 2025

Congratulations to our colleague Yadvinder Malhi, Centre Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, Professor of Ecosystem Science at the Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, and Senior Research Fellow at Oriel College, for appearing on the ENDS Power List for the second year running! A supporter of Yadvinder’s describes him as […]

Natalie Duffus recognised on the ENDS POWER LIST 2025

Congratulations to Natalie Duffus for being recognised on the 2024 the Ends Power List as an unsung hero! Asked to qualify Natalie Duffus’s contribution to the UK environmental sector, a nominator describes her as “a powerhouse in increasing public awareness around the ecological impacts of biodiversity net gain, and how to improve the policy both […]

Weed or wildflower – a case for ragworts

Written by Dr Cecilia Dahlsjӧ. A sea of wildflowers glistens in the morning dew, their petals slowly unfurling as they awaken from the stillness of the night. The sun warms the wings of hungry pollinators whose hum signals the start of a new day. What if these wildflowers weren’t the familiar faces of daisies and […]